Forbes: 7 Ways to Build Accountable Organizations

Don’t you love that employee who goes above and beyond? She takes responsibility, shows initiative and really owns her projects, processes and problems.

Somewhere along the line, she learned that good things happen when you are accountable. But it’s largely up to you, her boss, to be sure she doesn’t have a change of heart.

But, you say, accountability is intrinsic! You can’t force people to be accountable! True, but we learn from the people around us. When the work environment is designed for accountability, it will flourish. When it’s not, you’ll get stellar work from a few people – until they stop making the effort or leave for another job.

An accountable workplace won’t appear overnight, but the right elements must be in place. Where do you need to invest your time and attention to build an environment of accountability?

1. Clear roles, team leadership and individual ownership. People struggle to be accountable when roles and processes are ambiguous. Removing as much confusion as possible about who is doing what and how they will proceed is an important step. If a team is truly accountable, members will identify gaps, learn new roles and processes, and ultimately build a more capable team.

2. A sense of ownership for team results. How does team accountability work? Focus on team processes. How is the team working toward goals and outcome? Are team members effective? Do they feel 100 percent accountable to improving the process? Each member should have the obligation to seek information, give and receive feedback and point out the need for corrective action at any time.

3. Freedom, support and control to navigate competing priorities. Most problems have multiple right answers, so give people the freedom and control they need to make decisions. The first solutions your teams and direct reports come up with will probably be pretty good. Improve upon them instead of inserting your own. Support is the key – be sure people have the resources, knowledge and assistance they need. With this approach, team members increase their skills, confidence and ownership.

4. It’s not about punishment. If your goal in fostering accountability is to know who to punish when revenue targets are not met or budgets are missed, you will only succeed in creating fear. No one will be willing to step up, speak out or try something new. Innovation and risk taking will be lost. Once the rumor mill of an organization circulates a story of someone stepping out and being punished, hundreds, even thousands, of other employees will be skittish about taking initiative to find solutions.

5. It’s about improvement. Accountability is the foundation for creating a learning organization. If you want sustainable high-quality processes, you need to be able to see what’s working and what isn’t – and analyze the cause. To that end, each person needs to honestly say what they knew, what they thought and what they did (or didn’t do). One important thing you can do to support a learning atmosphere is to take a systems approach as well as holding individuals accountable. Seek to understand what aspects of the situation have influenced the process, system, culture or circumstances.

6. The expectation of evaluation. In accountable organizations, no one expects to “stay under the radar.” In fact, people seek feedback because they know it is intended to improve the process and add to their knowledge. These organizations use multiple forms of feedback and evaluation to assess the health and success of a manager, process or department. Organizations lacking multiple feedback mechanisms only discover shortcomings when it is too late.

7. Integrity counts. People are called out if they don’t do what they say they will do. When anyone falls short, they admit it and work to improve. Someone consistently falling short? A sure sign of low commitment and a clue that something is missing in your culture of accountability.

Henry Browning is a senior faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership, a top-ranked, global provider of leadership education and research, and author of Accountability: Taking Ownership of Your Responsibility.

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T. Liu

This book is very helpful for every international student who wants to get a job in the US. It opens a window to me on how Americans network and what benefit they get from networking. It also taught me how to network in an authentic American way step by step.

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Judy’s networking book helps me a lot. As an international student, I rarely know how to network with Americans, and I don’t even know how to have a good chat with American to enhance friendship.... I went to a lot of Career Fairs and information sessions but none of them worked out. When I was so depressed and have no idea what I can do next, I met Judy and her team at AsiaMBA Career Conference. She mentioned that networking is the key process for job-seekers in America and is also hard ...

Judy's ability to read the students needs and touch their hearts is unmatched. She really has her finger on the pulse of international student trends and knows how to bridge the US cultures with their own. Judy has a unique way of breaking down US communications and provides students with practical steps that is actionable. I give my unequivocal recommendation for any university to tap into Judy's breadth of experience to aid their students.

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Workshops for International Students

International students need an explicit road map and instructions to develop communication and social skills American peers already possess. Our Success in the U.S. program is tailored to build student confidence and competency by providing targeted programs, offered at key points in the school year. Each workshop corresponds to a Student Readiness Phase, as illustrated in our guide. For descriptions of the workshops, click here.

Understanding cultural preferences and differences is essential to effective advising and teaching. Advisors and faculty have given us high praise for helping them bridge the cultural gap and develop strategies for greater impact.

Students thrive when they feel a sense belonging and genuine welcome by American students, faculty, staff and administrators. Building a globally-inclusive community requires a strategic approach, embedded in curriculum and co-curricular activities.

Students and universities have said how helpful they’ve found this book! This year we’ve already had universities bulk order copies for their students. When you do so, you’ll receive a 20% discount off 100 or more books as well as access to our networking and storyselling videos!

In the U.S., 70% of jobs come from networking! Networking is a critical skill to develop if students are serious about landing a job in the U.S. The cultural aspects of networking present a unique challenge for International students, particularly those whose cultures frown upon self-promotion. Therefore, students need to possess a firm grasp of the “what” and “why” of networking before they can perfect the “how.”

These 13 short Networking videos will help students understand and develop the necessary skills for networking.

Below you will see the topics and titles of our Free Video Tutorial Library. We encourage you to use these videos as teaching/coaching tools when working with your students. Please share these with your students for them to view as well.